title: Interchangeability between 24-hour collection and single spot urines for vanillylmandelic and homovanillic acid levels in the diagnosis of neuroblastoma.
abstract: The determination of the two urinary catecholamine metabolites homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) is of crucial importance for the diagnosis and follow-up of neuroblastoma (NB). The standard practice for their measurement requires the use of 24-hour collections that are time consuming and difficult to obtain. In this article, we directly demonstrate that 24-hour collections and single spot urines are interchangeable for the determination of HVA and VMA expressed as ratio on creatinine concentration. This study can be useful for a faster management of NB at onset.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pathology Laboratory Unit, Giannina Gaslini Institute, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cangemi
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barco
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reggiardo
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viscardi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Cataldo
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garaventa
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Melioli
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conte
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000652:urine*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006719:Homovanillic Acid / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine*; D013997:Time Factors; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000379:methods; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid / Q000652:urine*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014642:Vanilmandelic Acid; D006719:Homovanillic Acid
keywords: 24-hour collection; homovanillic acid; neuroblastoma; single spot urine; vanillylmandelic acid